SEC Football Weekend Recap (Labor Day Edition)

by Dyke Marler
(Atlanta, Georgia )

September 7, 2010


Atlanta, Georgia


SEC football kicked off last weekend and honestly, I didn't see anything that moved me enough to write an article. I saw a lot of small things, both good and bad, that may determine the outcome of a few games but most teams were lined up against inferior opponents and came out okay. One did not.

Ole Miss
The best SEC team I saw last weekend was the Ole Miss Rebels in the first half. Physical, explosive, aggressive and no penalties. They came out and gave no indication that they would fold in the 2nd half. Brandon Bolden and Enrique Davis looked exceptional as did the offensive line.
Jeremiah Masoli's low release point will get him in trouble at some point this season. He may have gotten away with releasing it at shoulder level in the PAC-10, but he won't here.
Kick returner Jeff Scott looks like a good one.

Georgia
Aaron Murray throws a very catchable ball and showed no signs of freshmanitis. He threw down the middle, he threw deep, he checked down and he stood in the pocket. Very impressive start.
Todd Grantham's defense was a breath of fresh air over last year's ongoing debacle as the linebackers were very active.
Washaun Ealey and hopefully AJ Greene return this week for the showdown with South Carolina.
Georgia was my preseason pick to win the SEC East and that begins this Saturday. Georgia cannot afford to have one bad day or look past one opponent. South Carolina, Florida, Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee are all capable teams.

Alabama
Alabama's athletes look superior to any other team in America. Bigger, stronger, faster and better conditioned. The usual suspects impressed but true freshman linebacker CJ Moseley gets my vote as the most impressive of them all. He led the team with 9 tackles and had 3 pass break-ups. That's a polite way of saying "dropped interceptions."

Auburn
Cam, Cam, Cam, Cam Cam. Are you tired of hearing it yet? Auburn gave up 300+ yards passing and 4 touchdowns to Arkansas State. Tackling remains a problem, particularly by Zac Etheridge. I know Auburn scored 52 but somehow I'm still not impressed. They had to use blitz packages in the red zone to stop Ark. St, they had too many fumbles, too many penalties and I get the idea that Cam Newton thinks he's a one man show.
This week he gets to go on the road to Starkville for a Thursday night ESPN showdown with Mississippi State with 4 days to prepare for whatever Dan Mullen throws at him. This is where the JUCO QB in him will be exposed. If Cam thinks he is going to half-ass his way through his ball fakes and downfield reads and simply throw the ball up in the air into the hands of a wide open receiver or pull it down and run it to pad his stats and personal glory, as he did on Saturday, he is in for a rude awakening.

Florida
The Gators put the ball on the ground 8 times on Saturday. If not for two Stupid Thug plays by Miami (OH), this game would have been closer. Miami's starting running back, whose name I'm not even going to pretend to remember, threw a punch and was ejected early. Their 2nd string running back had already been ruled out of the game with injury so the replacement was a true freshman. Welcome to the Swamp, freshman! On 4th and goal from the one a Miami receiver kicked a Florida defender making it 4th and goal from the 16. Game over.

Mississippi State
400 yards of passing offense and sound defense. Bulldog fans, Dan Mullen is taking you seriously and will have his team prepared for the Thursday night ESPN showdown with Auburn.
If he can pull this one out, it's going to get fun again.

LSU
I've included LSU in todays Blog not because you beat North Carolina or because your fans are so much fun to be around. I stated before the season that it is possible for LSU to lose every SEC West game they play this year. I didn't see anything over the weekend to change my mind.

Tennessee
Derek Dooley was laser focused and fiery. I would say that the Knucklehead era is over in Knoxville. Oregon visits this weekend and expects to walk all over the Vols. What's that thing that Lee Corso says?

I'll get into Arkansas, South Carolina, Vandy and Kentucky as the week progresses.


Week 1 Picks
9-3

A few thoughts on the 3 misses;
Vandy, Vandy, Vandy. You're killing me. I saw Northwestern never give up in last year's Bowl game and I know Vandy has a first year head Coach. Still I picked Vandy.

Kentucky vs. Louisville- Lee Corso and Lou Holtz both picked Louisville. I refer to this as an "Automatic." As in "if those guys both picked Louisville, you know dang well Kentucky will win." Still I picked Louisville. I'm pretty sure that I've missed this one, in both football and basketball, for five years runnin'. Is it just me?

Ole Miss- Chins up Rebel fans. I still say your first half effort was the best SEC play I saw all weekend.

In case anyone is interested, my alma mater Georgia State, is still undefeated.

September 7, 2010


Atlanta, Georgia


SEC football kicked off last weekend and honestly, I didn't see anything that moved me enough to write an article. I saw a lot of small things, both good and bad, that may determine the outcome of a few games but most teams were lined up against inferior opponents and came out okay. One did not.

Ole Miss
The best SEC team I saw last weekend was the Ole Miss Rebels in the first half. Physical, explosive, aggressive and no penalties. They came out and gave no indication that they would fold in the 2nd half. Brandon Bolden and Enrique Davis looked exceptional as did the offensive line.
Jeremiah Masoli's low release point will get him in trouble at some point this season. He may have gotten away with releasing it at shoulder level in the PAC-10, but he won't here.
Kick returner Jeff Scott looks like a good one.

Georgia
Aaron Murray throws a very catchable ball and showed no signs of freshmanitis. He threw down the middle, he threw deep, he checked down and he stood in the pocket. Very impressive start.
Todd Grantham's defense was a breath of fresh air over last year's ongoing debacle as the linebackers were very active.
Washaun Ealey and hopefully AJ Greene return this week for the showdown with South Carolina.
Georgia was my preseason pick to win the SEC East and that begins this Saturday. Georgia cannot afford to have one bad day or look past one opponent. South Carolina, Florida, Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee are all capable teams.

Alabama
Alabama's athletes look superior to any other team in America. Bigger, stronger, faster and better conditioned. The usual suspects impressed but true freshman linebacker CJ Moseley gets my vote as the most impressive of them all. He led the team with 9 tackles and had 3 pass break-ups. That's a polite way of saying "dropped interceptions."

Auburn
Cam, Cam, Cam, Cam Cam. Are you tired of hearing it yet? Auburn gave up 300+ yards passing and 4 touchdowns to Arkansas State. Tackling remains a problem, particularly by Zac Etheridge. I know Auburn scored 52 but somehow I'm still not impressed. They had to use blitz packages in the red zone to stop Ark. St, they had too many fumbles, too many penalties and I get the idea that Cam Newton thinks he's a one man show.

This week he gets to go on the road to Starkville for a Thursday night ESPN showdown with Mississippi State with 4 days to prepare for whatever Dan Mullen throws at him. This is where the JUCO QB in him will be exposed. If Cam thinks he is going to half-ass his way through his ball fakes and downfield reads and simply throw the ball up in the air into the hands of a wide open receiver or pull it down and run it to pad his stats and personal glory, as he did on Saturday, he is in for a rude awakening.

Florida
The Gators put the ball on the ground 8 times on Saturday. If not for two Stupid Thug plays by Miami (OH), this game would have been closer. Miami's starting running back, whose name I'm not even going to pretend to remember, threw a punch and was ejected early. Their 2nd string running back had already been ruled out of the game with injury so the replacement was a true freshman. Welcome to the Swamp, freshman! On 4th and goal from the one a Miami receiver kicked a Florida defender making it 4th and goal from the 16. Game over.

Mississippi State
400 yards of passing offense and sound defense. Bulldog fans, Dan Mullen is taking you seriously and will have his team prepared for the Thursday night ESPN showdown with Auburn. If he can pull this one out, it's going to get fun again.

LSU
I've included LSU in todays Blog not because you beat North Carolina or because your fans are so much fun to be around. I stated before the season that it is possible for LSU to lose every SEC West game they play this year. I didn't see anything over the weekend to change my mind.

Tennessee
Derek Dooley was laser focused and fiery. I would say that the Knucklehead era is over in Knoxville. Oregon visits this weekend and expects to walk all over the Vols. What's that thing that Lee Corso says?

I'll get into Arkansas, South Carolina, Vandy and Kentucky as the week progresses.


Week 1 Picks
9-3

A few thoughts on the 3 misses;
Vandy, Vandy, Vandy. You're killing me. I saw Northwestern never give up in last year's Bowl game and I know Vandy has a first year head Coach. Still I picked Vandy.

Kentucky vs. Louisville- Lee Corso and Lou Holtz both picked Louisville. I refer to this as an "Automatic." As in "if those guys both picked Louisville, you know dang well Kentucky will win." Still I picked Louisville. I'm pretty sure that I've missed this one, in both football and basketball, for five years runnin'. Is it just me?

Ole Miss- Chins up Rebel fans. I still say your first half effort was the best SEC play I saw all weekend.

In case anyone is interested, my alma mater Georgia State, is still undefeated.

Visit me at I Bleed SEC Sports Blog.